Shock damping entertainment mount for exercise equipment

ABSTRACT

A shock damping mount for connecting an entertainment system, such as a television, to an exercise device, such as a treadmill, to decrease the motion of the treadmill that would otherwise be incident on the entertainment system. The device specifically utilizes a damping bracket having both a rotational connection and a spring connection that damps impact-generated motion generated by the user prior to it reaching the entertainment system.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

This disclosure relates to the field of shock damping mounts for usewith exercise equipment. In particular, to shock damping mounts used tosupport electronic entertainment devices such as televisions.

2. Description of the Related Art

The benefits of regular aerobic exercise on individuals of any age iswell documented in fitness science. Aerobic exercise can dramaticallyimprove cardiac stamina and function, as well as leading to weight loss,increased metabolism and other benefits. At the same time, many peoplefind the act of exercising tedious and time-consuming and will put offregular exercise because they simply don't enjoy it.

In order to make exercise more interesting as an activity, exercise isoften obtained as part of an athletic pursuit which is found enjoyable.This can comprise more solitary pursuits, such as running, biking, orskiing or can comprise more interactive pursuits like athletic games.Many people find this form of exercise to be sufficiently rewarding toengage in it on a regular basis. Often the activity is entertainingbecause of the nature of the interaction with others, the competitivenature of some of these activities, or simply because the athleticpursuit allows the user to be in a desirable location.

These types of exercise, however, are often difficult to obtain and maynot lend themselves to a regular exercise regimen. In particular, manyof these pursuits require significant space to perform and others canonly easily be performed outside. Therefore, weather and other factorsbeyond the control of the user can inhibit their ability to obtain theexercise. Other activities require scheduling with numerous otherindividuals which requires potentially complex coordination. To getaround these problems, most individuals in today's society that areattempting to maintain an exercise regimen will utilize some form ofexercise machine for at least some part of their exercise activity.

Machines provide a number of benefits over interactive or outdooractivities. In the first instance, an exercise machine can allow theuser to perform the exercise in a relatively small amount of space. Thiscan allow the exercise to be performed in the home or can allow a largenumber of people to perform the exercise simultaneously in a communitygym or health facility. Secondly, as these machines can be used indoors,the machines can be used at virtually any time desired by the user, foras long as they desire, and without having to rely on other's schedules,the weather, or other difficult to control factors to be able toexercise. Machines therefore make it much easier for the exerciseregimen to be regular and habitual by allowing users to schedule theirplanned exercise time in advance.

While working out on a machine has a number of benefits in bothconvenience and ease of use, it is often the case that exercising on anexercise machine is significantly less interesting than participating inan interactive athletic activity or exercising outside. The machine isstatic, solitary, and will generally only have a limited view. A user ona machine will, therefore, not necessarily find the exercise asrewarding, or as engaging, as they do when performing other forms ofexercise.

To try and make the exercise more interesting, most exercise machinesand gyms provide various forms of distraction for the user whileperforming the exercise. This distraction is often visual entertainmentproviding the user something to focus on instead of simply thinkingabout the repetitive exercise motion. In its simplest form, the exercisemachine can simply have a rack on which the user can place readingmaterial to read while they are exercising. This often works well as adistraction, however, in many cases, the exercise is sufficientlyrigorous that the exercise machine will shake while the exercise isbeing performed. The user may also be bouncing or otherwise movingsufficiently quickly to not be able to hold their head steady. Thismovement can make it difficult for a user to focus on the readingmaterial during their exercising and can prevent them from using readingfor entertainment.

To try and provide for further entertainment alternatives, many gyms andsome individuals in their home utilize electronic devices to provideentertainment. These can range from simple portable music devices, tocomplex television and DVD setups. Particularly in gyms, the morecomplex these systems, the less individualized they are generally. Forinstance, an individual is likely to have their own music system whichthey can bring with them but will often be forced to utilize the sametelevision and DVD system as other users as the system will often beprovided generally for all the gym users.

While whole gym systems provide for a reasonably cost effective way toprovide entertainment, they suffer from a number of problems. Firstly,each individual exerciser cannot select the content they wish to view,but instead are provided only the content that is made available. In theevent that the user finds the content unengaging it will often not serveas the distraction that it is intended for. This can particularly be aproblem because content selected usually needs to be acceptable to awide range of people. Further, it may not always be easy to see or heara television in a gym or other area where it is shared by a number ofmachines.

The problem with providing content to each individual user has been twofold. In the first instance, electronic devices, such as televisions,were simply too large and heavy to be attached individually to exercisemachines. The weight of the devices would make the machines unstable, oroverly heavy and cumbersome. This problem, however, has recently beeneliminated by the commercialization of so called “flat panel” TVs whichdo not require the traditional cathode ray tube. Further,miniaturization of recording and playback devices have also occurred inrecent years. This has made the devices sufficiently small, andsufficiently inexpensive, that they can be mounted directly toindividual exercise machines.

While it is now cost effective to mount televisions to individualexercise machines, this mounting has brought a second issue to light.When exercise machines are used they will often bounce or move inresponse to the user's movement on them. This is particularly true ontreadmills because the user's movement is not guided through a patternwith their feet or arms staying in relatively constant contact with anarm of the machine (such as on a stationary bicycle) but the user isactually running on top of the machine. Therefore, each foot strikeproduces an impact on the machine which jars the machine during itsoperation.

While a lot of this impact can be absorbed by the structure of themachine, electronic devices mounted to a treadmill frame havetraditionally been exposed to a rather large amount of shock andvibration. In order to place a television in an easily viewableposition, it is generally the case that the television is mounted to thetreadmill by either a relatively rigid connection, which will directlytransfer shock and vibration from the treadmill to the television, or byan arm which will end up acting as a lever arm. This can both directlytransfer impact, and can also provide for oscillatory movement.

Regardless of which method is used, the television will generallyexperience significant vibration and abrupt motion transitions due tothe impact type of motion from the user's feet. Further, these impactswill usually be directly translated through the rigid frame of themachine and the support to the television.

Damage to devices generally occurs not because the device is moving, butis caused instead by the rate of acceleration or deceleration imposed onit (relative to its inertia). With regards to an electronic device, ifthe device is slowly and smoothly accelerated, it will rarely be damagedby the acceleration as the acceleration is translated relativelysmoothly through its components. However, if the electronic device issharply impacted or is otherwise suddenly accelerated or decelerated,their can be internal strain on electronic components as rigid internalstructures attempt to transfer the motion. Because of this fact, manyelectronic components which are mounted directly to exercise devices,particularly to treadmills, have their useable life significantlydecreased. The steady pounding impact of the user's feet into thetreadmill is translated to the electronics which are literally shakenapart.

SUMMARY

Because of these and other problems in the art, described herein, amongother things, is an entertainment system shock damping mount designedfor use with an exercise machine. The mount serves to damp the suddenimpact type of motion, as well as damping general motion, created when auser on the exercise machine exercises so as to provide for a smoother(and often decreased) motion of the entertainment system. This isdesigned to provide for less impact motion (causing sudden accelerationand deceleration) on electronic devices attached via the mount whichwill generally improve their usable life.

Described herein, amongst other things, is a shock damping mount forattaching an entertainment device to an exercise machine, the mountcomprising: a frame, the frame capable of supporting the entertainmentdevice in a position whereby the entertainment device can be viewed by auser using the exercise machine; a mounting structure, the mountingstructure serving to attach the entertainment device to the frame; afirst connection plate, the first connection plate being rotationallyconnected to the exercise device about a generally horizontal axis ofrotation, the first plate being capable of rotating about the generallyhorizontal axis of rotation; a second plate, the second plate beingconnected to the exercise device via at least one spring and the secondplate being rigidly connected to the first connection plate; wherein,when the first connection plate rotates about the horizontal axis ofrotation, the second connection plate rotates in a generally verticalarc; and wherein the spring is positioned so that at least a portion ofthe restoring force of the spring acts on the second connection platewhen the second connection plate moves in the generally vertical arc.

In various embodiments of the mount the second plate is generallyperpendicular to the first plate, the entertainment device comprises atelevision and DVD player, the exercise machine is a treadmill, and thespring comprises a reliantly deformable material expressing springbehavior.

In another embodiment of the mount the frame is generally Y-shaped andmay attach to the exercise machine via two parallel vertical supports onthe exercise machine which support a console for operation of theexercise machine. The first plate may attach to the inside surfaces ofthose supports.

In another embodiment of the mount the second plate connects to theexercise machine via a compression structure, the compression structurecomprising two rubber disks with the second plate arranged between thediscs. The compression structure may be one of two compressionstructures connecting the second plate to the exercise machine.

In another embodiment of the mount the at least one spring comprises twosprings, the springs arranged so that one of the springs is compressedwhile the other is extended when the second plate moves in the generallyvertical arc; the at least one spring comprises four springs, thesprings being arranged so that two of the springs are compressed whilethe other two are extended when the second plate moves in the generallyvertical arc; or the at least one spring comprises four springs, thesprings being arranged so that all four of the springs are compressedwhen the second plate moves in the generally vertical arc.

There is also described herein a shock damping mount for attaching anentertainment device to an exercise machine such as, but not limited to,a treadmill, the mount comprising: support means for supporting theentertainment device in a position whereby the entertainment device canbe viewed by a user using the exercise machine; mounting means forattach the entertainment device to the support means; a first connectionmeans for rotationally connecting the support means to the exercisedevice; a second connection means for connecting the support means tothe exercise device via at least one spring in a manner such that whenthe support means rotates via the first connection means, at least aportion of the restoring force of the spring resists the rotation.

There is also described herein the combination of a treadmill and anattached television system, the combination comprising: a treadmill, thetreadmill having a deck, a belt, two generally vertical supports, and aconsole; a damping mount, the damping mount being attached to thetreadmill at the supports by damping brackets; each of the bracketsincluding: a rotational connection to a support; and a spring connectionto a support; and a television attached to the damping mount. Thecombination may also include a DVD player electronically attached to thetelevision and attached to the damping mount.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of an embodiment of an exercisemachine, such as a treadmill, having an embodiment of an entertainmentsystem shock mount and television in place.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a damping bracketwhen the mount is separated from the supports separated from theexercise device with the compression structure shown in an explodedview.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a compression structure which can beused with an embodiment of the shock mount.

FIG. 4 shows a front perspective view of the television mountingstructure with the protective cover removed.

FIG. 5 shows the treadmill of FIG. 1 folded up as it may be for storageor transport.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

The invention disclosed herein primarily relates to a shock dampingmount for attaching an entertainment system, generally which iselectronic in nature, to an exercise device. The mount is not designedto prevent the electronic device from being exposed to any forces or tonot move, but instead serves to damp motion, particularly sharp orsudden forces that are more likely to result in damage to electroniccomponents. Generally, this type of attachment will be most useful onexercise devices that experience more sudden type motions such as fromimpacts of the user. The damping facet of the device, therefore, doesnot serve to eliminate motion. Instead the motion is generally madesmoother than would be the case if a rigid mount is used. The smoothermotion will generally result in less internal strain on the electronicentertainment system and an increased useful life.

Throughout this disclosure, the mount will be discussed as being mountedon a treadmill (101) such as that shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. In differentembodiments, the shock damping mount can be attached to any kind ofexercise machine, such as, but not limited to, elliptical devices,stair-steppers, stationary bikes, and treadmills. Treadmills, inparticular, are prone to experiencing sudden or sharp motions and aretherefore used as the example exercise machine herein. The treadmill(101) is a particularly valuable example because the user does notengage in a smooth motion guided by the machine on a treadmill (101) butinstead runs on the moving belt of a treadmill (101). Each foot strikeof the user, while running or even walking, provides a relatively suddenimpact onto the treadmill (101) deck which effectively drives thetreadmill (101) into the ground by the weight of the user. This impactis absorbed by many shock absorbing systems in the treadmill (101) andthe treadmill's (101) mass, however, these systems will still generallycause the treadmill (101) to bounce and to transfer motion throughoutits structure. These bounces will generally be relatively regular butwill be marked by the sudden impact transitions present from the footstrikes. In effect, the treadmill (101) becomes a driven oscillator.

In FIG. 1, the treadmill (101) includes an entertainment system (901)mounted on an embodiment of a shock damping mount (201). The treadmillis of known construction and may be any form of treadmill known to oneof ordinary skill in the art. The treadmill (101) will generally includea deck which will provide support for the moving belt. The treadmill(101) will also generally comprise some form of supports (107) whichserve to hold a console (109) and user handgrips (105). The console(109) is the control panel of the treadmill (101) where the user canprogram the speed and incline of the treadmill (101) amongst otherthings. In most treadmills, supports (107) comprise two generallyparallel vertical supports (107A) and (107B) located on either side ofthe belt. This structure is generally preferred as it allows the userslegs to pass under the console (109) and keeps the user from hitting thesupports (107) by placing them to the side of the walking or runningmotion which takes place over the belt.

The entertainment system (901) of FIG. 1 comprises a television (903)along with a secondary control panel (905) which is attached below thetelevision (903). The secondary control panel (905) simply placescontrols for the television at a position more readily accessible to auser of the treadmill (101) to make it easier for them to operate thetelevision (903). It may also provide for hookups for headphones orother devices to allow the user to interact with the television (903).In an embodiment, the entertainment system (906) may also comprise aplayback device, such as, but not limited to, a video cassette recorder(VCR) or digital video disc (DVD) player which may be separable from orpart of the television (903). These devices can allow a user to supplytheir own entertainment in the form of prerecorded content that can beplayed instead of relying on broadcast or cable television channels.

The entertainment system (901) will generally be attached to thetreadmill (101) by the shock damping mount (201). In the depictedembodiment, the damping mount (201) comprises a generally rigid frame(209) which is attached to the treadmill (101) supports (107) by dampingbrackets (203). The damping brackets (203) are preferably used toconnect the frame (209) to the treadmill (101) to provide damping to themotion of the entire frame (209) relative to the motion of the treadmill(101) and this is the case in the embodiment of FIG. 1. Further, in theembodiment of FIG. 1, the frame (209) is attached to two mountingbrackets (203), each of which connects to one of the supports (107). Theleft and right brackets (203) are generally mirror images of each other.The bracket (203) of FIG. 2 is therefore mirrored when placed on theother support (107). One of ordinary skill in the art would recognizethat the damping brackets (203) described herein, could be used at anypoint between the treadmill (101) deck and the entertainment system(901) as the brackets (203) are intended to damp the motion imparted onthe treadmill (101) deck from reaching the entertainment system (901).Therefore, in alternative embodiments, the damping brackets (203) couldbe located at a position other than for connecting the frame (209) tothe supports (107). Further, it is not necessary to use two dampingbrackets (203). In an alternative more or less than two brackets (203)can be used.

The damping bracket (203) is designed to provide two different types ofconnections which serve to provide for the damping effect as shown bestin FIGS. 1 and 2. In particular, the damping bracket (203) includes aspring connection (205) and a rotational connection (207). Theseconnections work together to help to damp the motion imparted by theuser to the treadmill (101) to protect the entertainment system (901).The damping bracket (203), in the embodiment of FIG. 1 is partiallycovered by a cover (103) which has been shown in an exploded position soas to reveal the operating components. This cover (103) can serve toprotect the user from possible pinch points created by the lever actionof the frame (209) (as discussed later) and also to improve theappearance of the treadmill (101).

In order to explain the damping performed by the mount (201) clearly, itis best to first provide an indication of the type of motion that willgenerally be imparted by the user to the treadmill (101) and how theentertainment system (901) is affected by that motion. As should beapparent from FIG. 1, the entertainment system (901) is supported in agenerally elevated position on the treadmill (101) by the mount (201) soas to be at a reasonable eye level for a good percentage of users. Theentertainment system (901) also has a non-negligible mass. This resultsin the mount (201), and possibly the supports (107), effectively actingas a lever arm for the mass. The user is also impacting the deck of thetreadmill (101) regularly which causes the supports (107), and thus theframe (209) which is attached, to bounce up-and-down in an oscillatingvertical motion. In the event that the connection between treadmill(101) and mount (201) is rigid, the impact and oscillatory motion istransferred directly. In this situation, the entertainment system (901),mounted at the proximal end (401) of the mount (201) will oscillate inan upward and downward fashion in conjunction with the foot strikes ofthe user. Generally, this motion will include “shocks” due to theimpacts of the user's feet driving the oscillation. In particular, thetreadmill (101) deck will generally be forced suddenly downward when theimpact of the foot occurs. It will then return back upward in a moreregular fashion before being suddenly driven downward again by the nextfoot strike.

Because the entertainment system (901) is effectively on a lever bybeing positioned as shown, the foot strikes will end up giving theentertainment system (901) a generally up-and-down type of driven motionwith the driving force coming from sudden downward impacts. This impactmotion is problematic because each time the entertainment system (901)experiences a shock, internal components of the entertainment system(901), and actually the frame (209) as a whole are strained byattempting to translate the impact into motion. That is, componentshaving an internal inertia will have that inertia changed rapidly, whichcan damage them.

This up-and-down oscillating motion is by far the most common andstrongest type of motion that the entertainment system (901) willexperience. Further, every foot strike will generally involve a violentdriving force. This sudden shock will generally become greater thefaster the user is running on the treadmill (101) as the frequency oftheir foot strikes will generally increase and the individual forceexerted by each foot strike will generally increase.

In addition to this up-and-down oscillating motion, the entertainmentsystem (901) will also experience some side-to-side sway. This motionexists because the user's feet will not consistently land in the centerline of the belt. As their foot strikes fall off center, the treadmill(101) will also sway slightly from side-to-side. This motion willgenerally be significantly less than the motion imparted in theup-and-down direction as basically the entire force of the impact isstill downward, the side-to-side component only exists becausecompensation for the impact isn't equal between the two sides of thedeck on each step, instead, one side will generally be forced tocompensate more, then the other will be forced to compensate more, andso on. This motion, while also oscillatory, is not characterized by thesudden impact type of motion as much as the up-and-down motion ischaracterized by it. While the impact creating the motion is stillsharp, the very nature of the movement of the rocking motion of thetreadmill (101) deck will serve to smooth this out more than it smoothesout the up-and-down component of the motion.

In the depicted embodiment, the mount (201) comprises a tubular frame(209) of a generally “Y” shape which is attached to the supports (107)of the treadmill (101). As mentioned earlier, each arm of the Y isattached to a different support (107). The mount (201) includes adamping bracket (203) at each arm of the Y which is used to attach themount (201) to the support (107). One of these damping brackets (203) isshown in further detail in FIG. 2. The Y-shape of the frame (209) is notrequired but it is preferable in a situation where there are two spacedsupports (107) so that the mount (201) attaches to both the brackets(203). It should be immediately apparent that if the mount (201) onlyattaches to a single of the supports (107), the up-and-down motion ofthe entertainment system (901) will result in the television (903)screen moving within the plane of the screen due to the lever armcreated. This type of motion is likely to be quite distracting whenattempting to watch the television (903). Further, the lever isgenerally longer and narrower which is likely to result in more motion.In the depicted embodiment, the up-and-down motion is generallyexpressed by more back-to-front motion (perpendicular to the plane ofthe screen) which is expected to be easier to watch.

In an alternative embodiment, the mount (201) can be attached at asingle point to the console (109) or even to the treadmill (101) deck.While this is useable in an alternative embodiment, it is generally notpreferred. By spacing the brackets (203) horizontally, the mount (201)provides improved side-to-side stability. This will make the mount (203)be generally unable to significantly bend or flex in its own structuredue to the side-to-side motion of the treadmill (101). As the motionside-to-side is significantly less problematic than the motionup-and-down, a rigid connection is often desirable.

As discussed above, the entertainment system (901) has a non-negligible,and often quite significant, mass. Regardless of how strong the mount(201) is made, the mount (201) will generally have a relatively narrowcross section so as to make it reasonably cost effective to construct.Further, making the structure of the frame (209) sufficiently rigid toavoid any type of bending, will also mean more impact shock can transferthrough it to the entertainment system (901). The Y-shape effectivelymassively increases the cross section in one direction. In this way, themount (201) itself is not generally capable of imparting additionalmotion due to the lever arm construction in that direction, but alsogenerally transfers the motion as a relatively rigid body. As theside-to-side motion is of less concern for damaging the entertainmentsystem (901), there is generally not a major concern for risk of damagefrom such motion. In the depicted embodiment, this direction is alsoacross the direction of belt travel. Such an arrangement means that theframe (209) is not able to magnify the side-to-side rocking motionimparted on it by the machine, but is instead relatively rigidlypositioned. At the same time, as discussed above, the side-to-sidemotion is generally smoother than the up-and-down motion and is alreadyless of a concern.

At the proximal end (401) of the frame (209) (the base of the Y) thereis attached a mounting structure (411) which is used to attach thecomponents of the entertainment system (901) to the frame (209). Anembodiment of this mounting structure (411) is best shown in FIG. 4 andis designed to allow for the attachment of a flat panel television(903), DVD player (which may be internal to the television (903)),and/or other entertainment device (901). As shown in FIG. 4, themounting structure (411) may be attached to the frame (209) via arotational connection (413) to allow for the television (903) or otherdisplay of the entertainment device (901) to be rotated by the user to adesirable viewing position based on their height when they are on thetreadmill (101). Further, the attachment may include one or morefriction pads (415) which serve to resist free motion of the mountingstructure (411) relative to the frame (209). In this way the viewingangle of the entertainment system (901) can be moved by the intentionalapplication of force by the user to move the television (903), but thetelevision (903) will generally be prevented from moving on its own bybeing held rigidly by the friction pads (415).

The mounting structure (411) will generally comprise a relatively rigidmount for the entertainment device (901) so as to make sure that itcannot shake loose of the mounting structure (411) and fall off. In thedepicted embodiment, this comprises a generally C-shaped clamp formed oftop support (421) and bottom support (423) that serves to contact thetop and bottom of the television (903) to hold it rigidly to themounting structure (411). There may also be included additional mountsupon which controls for the TV, a DVD player or similar playback device,or other structures can further be mounted.

At the distal ends (403) of the frame (the top of the Y) there areprovided the damping brackets (203) which serve to connect the frame(209) to the treadmill (101). The damping brackets (203) each providefor two different forms of connection as discussed above. There is arotational connection (207) which generally has its axis (237) arrangedperpendicularly to the motion of the belt and the up-and-down motion ofthe deck and television (903) and there is a spring connection (205)which will serve to resist motion using the restoring force of a spring.This arrangement will be further described as the motion imparted to thedamping bracket (203) is discussed.

In order to attach to the supports (107), the damping bracket (203)generally comprises two plates, the first plate (227) provides for therotational connection (207) while the second plate (225) provides forthe spring connection (205). The second plate (225) is generally rigidlyattached directly to the distal ends (403) of the frame and cuts acrossthe tubular structure of the frame (209) as shown in the FIGS. In thedepicted embodiment, the structure intersects at an angle other than 90degrees, but in an alternative embodiment, the intersection may beperpendicular. The first plate (227) is generally elongated and arrangedgenerally perpendicular to the second plate (225) so as to extend adistance from the connection point to the frame (209). In the depictedembodiment, this second plate (225) is arranged to extend across theframe (209) and is arranged generally perpendicular to the plane of thefirst plate (227).

The arrangement of the two plates is not specifically required, however,but such an arrangement does serve, in an embodiment, to provide for thearrangement of connections (205) and (207) which meets the preferredarrangement discussed below for the connections (205) and (207).

The rotational connection (207) between the frame (209) and thetreadmill (101) is provided by the first plate (227). The rotationalconnection (207) is arranged so that the axis of rotation (237) isgenerally perpendicular to the direction of motion of the belt andgenerally perpendicular to the motion to be principally damped. As thisis vertical motion in this case, the axis (237) is arranged generallyhorizontally. The rotational connection comprises some form of connector(247) forming the axis (237). In this case, it is a cylindrical bar orother connector which is connected toward the distal end (257) of thefirst plate (227) through a hole (267). In the depicted embodiment, thisconnection is made on the surfaces of the supports (107) which face eachother over the treadmill (101) deck. That is, the inside surfaces (171)of the supports (107). The inside connection is not required but isgenerally preferred for aesthetic reasons. The first plate (227) iscapable of rotation about the axis (237) so as to transcribe at least aportion of a circle.

The first plate (227) also includes two washers (277) which areconstructed generally of a compressible material and in effect act likesmall springs. In the depicted embodiment, the washers (277) actuallycomprise a barbell structure forming a small compression structure (301)such as the one shown in FIG. 3. In this way, side-to-side rockingmotion of the supports (107) can be damped before being provided to thebracket (201). The side-to-side damping generally works in a similarfashion to the spring connection (205) discussed later for theup-and-down damping, and therefore is not discussed here in detail.

The rotational connection (207) serves to provide a constraint on theup-and-down motion of the entertainment system (901). In particular, theentertainment system (901) will effectively bounce up-and-down, howevereach individual oscillation, if the mount was not constrained, can be ina slightly different direction meaning that the motion is free in allthree dimensions. The rotational connection (207) provides that themotion is generally constrained to be rotational motion in a portion ofthe arc defined about the rotational axis (237). It should also beapparent that the motion about the rotational axis (237) is generallytoward and away from the supports (107) by the placement of therotational axis (237) in the damping bracket (203).

The second connection is the spring connection (205) which will serve toprovide at least one spring (215) having a restoring force to dampmotion toward and away from the support (107). In particular, asdiscussed above, the rotational connection (207) of the damping bracket(213) serves to generally constrain the motion of the frame (209) causedby the impacts to be generally around the axis (237) of the rotationalconnection (207). As the first plate (227) is rigidly connected to thesecond plate (225), this means that the second plate (225) willgenerally be constrained to move in a generally vertical arc (as theaxis (237) is generally horizontal) under the force of the impact. Thespring connector (205) is arranged so that the restoring force of thespring (215) will be applied to the second plate (225) as it attempts tomove through this arc. The spring (215) will therefore be mounted infashion so that the restoring force it exerts is generally perpendicularto the axis (237) of the rotational connection (207). In the depictedembodiment, the spring connection (205) actually comprises fourfunctional springs (215) which are arranged as part of two compressionstructures (301). One compression structure (301) is placed on each sideof the tubular structure of the frame (209) and attached to the secondplate (225) as shown in FIG. 1. In the depicted embodiment, thecompression structures (301) are arranged so that one is above theconnection point of the bracket (203) to the distal end (403) of theframe (209) and the other is below the connection point. FIG. 2 onlyshows a single compression structure (301) in exploded view; however,there would normally be two, one at each of holes (311). An assembledcompression structure (301) is shown in FIG. 3.

The embodiment of the spring connector (205) of FIGS. 2 and 3 comprisesan arrangement (313) of resilient rubber or similar material discs (315)formed into a barbell shape. The shape comprises two discs (315A) and(315B) arranged at either end of the barbell, and a center support (317)connecting them. The components are arranged to have a pattern of raisedribs (319) on some of the surfaces thereof. The compression structures(301) are designed to act as a series of springs, that is to provide arestoring force. In this embodiment, the material is resilientlydeformable and its deformation provides the restoring force allowing thediscs (315) to each act as a spring when compressed. There is alsoincluded a rigid central tube (319) which provides support for thebarbell shape as well as various mounting hardware including a screw(321) or other connection device and various washers (323) to providefor assembly of the compression structure (301) and connection of thecompression structure (301) to the second plate (225) and to thesupports (107). In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the screw (321) willprovide for the connection directly into a mating hole in the support(107). Therefore, the second plate (225) is effectively suspended by thecompression structures (301) when it is attached to the supports (107).

As should be apparent in FIGS. 1 and 2, the second plate is placedbetween the discs (315A) and (315B) of the barbell via holes (311) inthe second plate (225) so as to be aligned with the second plate's (225)allowed arc of motion. In this way any movement of the second plate(225) about the axis (237) will result in the second plate (225) bearinginto at least one of the discs (315A) and (315B) of the barbell.Further, as the second plate (225) is spaced from the axis (237) by theelongation of the first plate (227) and the connection location of thefirst plate (227) to the supports (107), any rotation of the frame (209)about the axis (237) will necessarily result in the second plate (225)being “bent” or “twisted” relative to the support (107). The secondplate (225) will, therefore, always contact both barbells (mounted atboth holes (311) in FIG. 2 as seen in FIG. 1), and in fact all fourdiscs (315) that would be present, with any such movement.

While the embodiment of the compression structures (301) of FIGS. 2 and3 provides an embodiment of the compression structure (301) thatutilizes resilient “springy” materials (those that express springbehavior) to provide the spring connection (205), it should be apparentthat the spring connection (205) may comprise any form of spring orspring-like structure including, without limitation, mechanical springs,electromagnetic springs, materials having spring properties,. or anycombination thereof. Further, while the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3includes four springs (215) arranged into two compression structures(301) whereby movement of the second plate (225) compresses all foursprings, this is by no means necessary and the spring connection (205)may comprise any number of springs (215) arranged into any number ofcompression structures (301). Further, some or all of the springs may becompressed or extended by the motion of the second plate (225).

The four spring connection is, however, particularly useful as byoffsetting the axis (237) from the second plate (225) by a distance, thesecond plate (225) will always effectively “tilt” as it tries to rotateabout the axis (237). This tilt will therefore generally engage therestoring force of all four springs (215) simultaneously (eithercompressing all four or compressing two and extending two. The force isnot necessarily equally disseminated as the compression structure (301)located closer to the axis (237) may have more force applied.

The lever motion of the frame is damped by the compression structures(301). In effect, the two compression structures (301) work togetherwith the rotational connection (207) providing for most of the motion tobe rotational about the axis (237), and the compression structures (301)being designed to damp motion about the axis (237). In particular, asthe frame (209) tilts in the lever arm fashion, it will generally pushone edge of the second plate (225) in toward the treadmill (101).Effectively this causes the second plate (225) to want to tilt relativeto the support (107) of the treadmill (101) to which it is attached. Bythe inclusion of the two compression structures (301) holding the mount(201) to the supports (107), this type of motion will necessary driveone end of the second plate (225) into the disc (315A) of the barbell ofthe compression structure (301), while the other end is driven into theupper disc (315B) of the other compression structure (313). Further asthe motion is rotational and not linear, the remaining sides of thesecond plate (225) will engage the remaining two discs as well. Thisstructure will therefore provide for four separate returning forces onthe lever action all of which oppose the motion of the frame (209). Theopposing forces will result in a decrease in actual movement of theframe (209) and therefore the entertainment system (901).

It should be apparent that the frame (209) will essentially rock in adamped motion about the axis (237) with the compression structures (301)resisting the transference of all the motion of the treadmill (101) tothe entertainment system (901). In addition, the use of springs (215)smoothes the motion of the frame (209). In effect, the frame (209) willoscillate due to the force applied by the user, but instead of theoscillation having clear sudden stops at either end of the oscillationbecause of being driven by the pounding motion of the user's steps, theentertainment system (901) will oscillate in a damped fashion where themotion generally may be slowed more gradually before it turns around andbegins to oscillate the other direction. This will result in theentertainment system (901) experiencing less sharp impacts andprotecting its internal electronics.

From Examining FIG. 1 in conjunction with FIGS. 2-3 it should beapparent how the impact force on the deck of the treadmill (101) isdamped in operation of the entire system. In particular, the frame (209)is attached to the support (107) in a manner that utilizes the restoringforce of a spring (215) to counter the impact force transferred by thetreadmill (101) from the user's motion. As the force is translated tothe supports (107), the supports (107) will generally move downward.This force will be translated to the frame (209) via the rotational axis(237) (which is relatively rigid) which will also pull the frame (209),and the entertainment system (901) downward. However, due to the mass ofthe entertainment system (901), the frame (209) will attempt to initiatea lever action relative to the support (107) (as the entertainmentsystem (901) has a significant resting inertia). This lever action willbe generally in a vertical plane and will result in rotation of theframe (209) about the axis (237). This rotational motion will cause thefirst plate (227) to rotate which in turn causes the second plate (227)to rotate and thus twist against the discs (315) which are compressedengaging their restoring force in the opposite direction to the force ofthe entertainment system (901) lever action on the frame (209).

Eventually, an equilibrium is reached on the oscillation of the deckfrom the impacts of the feet. At this time, the damping bracket (203)will essentially serve to smooth out the impacts of the feet byproviding for a more regular oscillating motion of the entertainmentsystem (901). That is, the damping bracket (203) will serve to impartonly a damped motion to the entertainment system (901). In this way, theimpact motion generated by the feet and the lever motion of theentertainment system (901) is damped and the entertainment system (901)experiences a decreased, and generally smoother, motion. This motion isgenerally not as hard on internal electronics of the entertainmentsystem (901) and generally provides for an improved useful life of theentertainment system (901).

The mount (201) also serves to provide for damping with regards toside-to-side motion by having the motion of the first plate (227) in theside-to-side direction also have an essentially perpendicular springrestoring force to the spring connection (205). This second spring maybe a similar structure (301) to the spring used on the spring connection(205) but will generally be smaller and simpler as there is simply lessmotion to damp. This motion is also generally of less concern as it isless likely to damage the entertainment device (901) and not as muchdamping is needed.

The inclusion of the rotational connection (207) and spring connection(205) together therefore imposes damping on the motion imparted to theentertainment device (901). It tends to focus the motion from theimpacts into a lever motion about the axis (237), and then utilizes therestoring force of at least one spring (215) to counteract a portion ofthat motion.

FIG. 5 shows a still further benefit of the frame (209) shown anddiscussed above being attached via the damping bracket (203) to thesupports (107) by a rotational connection (207) and spring connection(205). In particular, the frame (209) can be folded down about therotational connection (207) without having to disconnect the mount (207)from the support (107). This allows the treadmill (101) to be folded upmore compactly for storage or shipping. In this embodiment the secondplate (225) has been disconnected from the treadmill (101) and thecompression structures (301) have been removed from the second plate(225). The frame (209) was then rotated downward around the axis (237),which has allowed the frame (209) to now sit in closer proximity to thesupports (107) of the treadmill (101). Those supports (107) have in turnbeen folded down the opposite direction and the resulting treadmill(101) has been packed as a more compact structure for storage ortransportation.

While the above embodiments provide that the damping bracket (203) ofthe mount (201) be attached at the distal end (403) of the frame (209)and attached directly to the treadmill (101), this is by no meansrequired. This damping bracket (203) placement is generally preferred assuch an arrangement will provide for the most damping to theentertainment system (901) as it provides damping for the entire leverarm movement. However, in alternative embodiments, the damping bracket(203) may be placed anywhere between the treadmill (101) deck and theentertainment system (901). This can include, for example, at the yokeof the Y in the frame (209), or at the connection point of the mountingstructure (411).

Regardless of placement, the general structure of the damping bracket(203) can remain the same with a rotational connector (207) whose axis(237) is perpendicular to the motion to be damped and a springconnection (205) including at least one spring (215) which will serve toprovide a restoring force opposing movement of the entertainment system(901).

While the invention has been disclosed in connection with certainpreferred embodiments, this should not be taken as a limitation to allof the provided details. Modifications and variations of the describedembodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention, and other embodiments should be understood to beencompassed in the present disclosure as would be understood by those ofordinary skill in the art.

1. A shock damping mount for attaching an entertainment device to anexercise machine, the mount comprising: a frame, said frame capable ofsupporting said entertainment device in a position whereby saidentertainment device can be viewed by a user using said exercisemachine; a mounting structure, said mounting structure serving to attachsaid entertainment device to said frame; a first connection plate, saidfirst connection plate being rotationally connected to said exercisedevice about a generally horizontal axis of rotation, said first platebeing capable of rotating about said generally horizontal axis ofrotation; a second plate, said second plate being connected to saidexercise device via at least one spring and said second plate beingrigidly connected to said first connection plate; wherein, when saidfirst connection plate rotates about said horizontal axis of rotation,said second connection plate rotates in a generally vertical arc; andwherein said spring is positioned so that at least a portion of therestoring force of said spring acts on said second connection plate whensaid second connection plate moves in said generally vertical arc. 2.The mount of claim 1 wherein said second plate is generallyperpendicular to said first plate.
 3. The mount of claim 1 wherein saidentertainment device comprises a television.
 4. The mount of claim 1wherein said entertainment device comprises a DVD player.
 5. The mountof claim 1 wherein said frame is generally Y-shaped.
 6. The mount ofclaim 5 wherein said frame attaches to said exercise machine via twoparallel supports on said exercise machine.
 7. The mount of claim 6wherein said two parallel supports support a console for operation ofsaid exercise machine.
 8. The mount of claim 6 wherein said first plateattaches to the inside surfaces of said two supports.
 9. The mount ofclaim 1 wherein said second plate connects to said exercise machine viaa compression structure, the compression structure comprising two rubberdisks with the second plate arranged between said discs.
 10. The mountof claim 9 wherein said compression structure is one of two compressionstructures connecting said second plate to said exercise machine. 11.The mount of claim 1 wherein said spring comprises a reliantlydeformable material expressing spring behavior.
 12. The mount of claim 1wherein said at least one spring comprises two springs, said springsarranged so that one of said springs is compressed while the other isextended when said second plate moves in said generally vertical arc.13. The mount of claim 1 wherein said at least one spring comprises foursprings, said springs being arranged so that two of said springs arecompressed while the other two are extended when said second plate movesin said generally vertical arc.
 14. The mount of claim 1 wherein said atleast one spring comprises four springs, said springs being arranged sothat all four of said springs are compressed when said second platemoves in said generally vertical arc.
 15. The mount of claim 1 whereinsaid exercise machine is a treadmill.
 16. A shock damping mount forattaching an entertainment device to an exercise machine, the mountcomprising: support means for supporting said entertainment device in aposition whereby said entertainment device can be viewed by a user usingsaid exercise machine; mounting means for attach said entertainmentdevice to said support means; a first connection means for rotationallyconnecting said support means to said exercise device; a secondconnection means for connecting said support means to said exercisedevice via at least one spring in a manner such that when said supportmeans rotates via said first connection means, at least a portion of therestoring force of said spring resists said rotation.
 17. The mount ofclaim 16 wherein said exercise machine is a treadmill.
 18. A combinationof a treadmill and an attached television system, the combinationcomprising: a treadmill, said treadmill having a deck, a belt, twogenerally vertical supports, and a console; a damping mount, saiddamping mount being attached to said treadmill at said supports bydamping brackets; each of said brackets including: a rotationalconnection to a support; and a spring connection to a support; and atelevision attached to said damping mount.
 19. The combination of claim18 further comprising a DVD player electronically attached to saidtelevision and attached to said damping mount.